John's neighbor, Betsy, loved animals. In particular, Betsy loved dogs. Betsy's dogs barked all day and all night. The noise was terrible. John and Betsy's townhouses were right next to each other. The noise from the dogs just seemed to come right through the walls into John's house. John tried talking to Betsy, but she [...]

One of the biggest decisions in a person's life is the decision to buy real estate. The excitement that is often associated with the purchase of a new home can be overshadowed by disappointment once the newness wears off and defects become apparent. Generally, the rule of "caveat emptor" -- buyer beware -- requires the [...]

John owned an apartment building. Some of his tenants had pets, including dogs. Jake, one of John's tenants, had a friendly little dog. One day, however, Jake's little dog bit a construction contractor hired by John. The injury wasn't serious, but the construction contractor required some medical treatment. Can John be held liable? In residential [...]

Jack decided to pursue his dream of owning a ranch. It was Jack's plan to raise cattle for profit. Jack found some farmland in Montana that he thought would work out well. The land was undeveloped and had no fence around its boundary. Jack wondered whether he would be required to erect a fence. The [...]

A wrap-around mortgage refers to a type of loan transaction. With a wrap-around mortgage, a lender (often the seller of property) assumes or continues responsibility for an existing mortgage and makes a new mortgage for an additional sum which essentially "wraps" around the old mortgage, because the lender will make the payments on the old [...]